By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES - The NCAA men's basketball tournament has reached the championship game with North Carolina and Illinois facing off.
Prior to the start of the tournament, athletic directors, basketball coaches and others were asked who would reach the Final Four in St. Louis and who would eventually win the national championship.
Looking back at those picks, it was easy to see why North Carolina was among those favored.
Here is a look at who they picked:
Jim Arnold
Niles girls' basketball coach Jim Arnold had Illinois, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke heading to the Final Four. Arnold selected North Carolina as the national champion.
Reid McBeth
Buchanan boys' basketball coach Reid McBeth picked Illinois, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Michigan State to go to St. Louis. McBeth selected Wake Forest to win the NCAA championship.
Joe Austin
Buchanan athletic director Joe Austin selected Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Oklahoma State as the participants in the Final Four. Austin picked Wake Forest as the national champion.
John Danaher
Niles athletic director John Danaher had Illinois, Wake Forest, Kansas and Duke as his Final Four picks. Danaher selected Kansas as national champion.
Erika Pickles
Niles Daily Star sports writer Erika Pickles picked Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Oklahoma State as the teams headed to St. Louis. Pickles thought that North Carolina would win the national title.
Greg Younger
Dowagiac athletic director Greg Younger selected Illinois, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke reaching the Final Four in St. Louis. Younger felt that the Tar Heels would be crowned national champions.
Katrina Hargreaves-Lee
Katrina Hargreaves-Lee, a former collegiate cager and former Dowagiac varsity girls' basketball coach picked Oklahoma State, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Syracuse to reach the Final Four in St. Louis.
Hargreaves-Lee felt that the Tar Heels would be crowned national champions.
Randy Brooks
Former Dowagiac softball coach Randy Brooks had Illinois, Wake Forest, Connecticut and Syracuse headed to St. Louis.
Brooks, who is the Cassopolis varsity softball coach, selected Illinois to win the national championship.
Jeff Yauchstetter
Dowagiac junior varsity football coach Jeff Yauchstetter selected Illinois, Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina as the Final Four participants.
Yauchstetter had North Carolina as the national champion.
Scott Novak
Daily Star sports editor Scott Novak picked Illinois, Duke, North Carolina and Texas Tech reaching the Final Four in St. Louis. Novak selected the Tar Heels as national champions.